FCC Boss Concerned About Cell Phone Unlocking Ban

Still feeling the blues about the Librarian of Congress making it illegal to unlock your cell phone? The chairman of the FCC has a few things to say about that, and appears committed to getting it reversed.

Ars Technica is reporting that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski is troubled by a recent Librarian of Congress decision making it illegal for consumer to unlock their cell phones.

The controversial move resulted in an online backlash last week, with a White House petition to reverse the ban gathering more than 100,000 signatures -- enough to now warrant a response from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Genachowski remarked that the ban "raises competition concerns; it raises innovation concerns," although it remains unclear if the FCC has the power or authority to actually do anything about it.

"It’s something that we will look at at the FCC to see if we can and should enable consumers to use unlocked phones," he said.

Ironically, even some carriers seem to want the ban repealed: The Competitive Carriers Association, who represents Sprint, T-Mobile and "dozens of smaller wireless carriers" have also called for the decision to be reversed.